Panther
by Lady Oloriel
Summary: Ok, so the story is about a college age girl whos mutations are just begininng to manifest themselves, and it freaks her out. For anything else, you need to read for yourself, I am horrible at summaries.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters or anything else associated with X-Men, if I did, I would be rich and famous right now, and know A LOT of actors and such….So please don't sue me, I am just a poor college student trying to vent some imagination and such here in this story. Enough of me blabbering, here's the stuff your looking for! ;)

**Chapter One: The Discovery**

A brown-haired girl walked out of the testing center with an angry expression on her face, and walked quickly past the building and down the Maeser Trail, not caring that it was dark out, and she was alone. _I should have done better on that test; I can't believe what I got. I studied for 5 hours! UGH! _Angrily she sat down on the edge of the stream, letting her feet dangle in the water. Slowly she calmed herself down, "Well, it's not like I failed the test, I still did well on it, I guess." She shrugged and was about to get up when her cell phone rang, shattering the peaceful silence of the night. She answered with a feeling of dread coming over her, "Hello?"

"Khanya! I'm so glad I finally got a hold of you, I had to dig through Eric's things to find your dorm phone, then you weren't there, so your roommate gave me your cell number," a female said on the other end of the phone.

"Aleesa, what's wrong? Why couldn't you just get my number from Eric himself, or is he still out hunting?" Khanya tried not to let her worry seep through into her voice and betray her.

"Khanya, Eric was in a car accident on his way home last night, and has been in a coma since then, can you come down?" Aleesa's voice was laced with hope, fear, regret, and sorrow.

"Aleesa, I'll be there tomorrow, ok? Just let me pack some things and get a few hours sleep, if possible, and I'll head down first thing in the morning." Khanya's voice was hoarse, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill over.

Aleesa's voice was thankful, "Thanks Khanya. Mom's at the hospital with him tonight, just come down to the house and I'll bring you over, ok?"

"Ok chick, see ya tomorrow. Ciao." Khanya hung up her cell after Aleesa said her goodbyes. Khanya stood up and started the trek back to Heritage Halls and her room. By the time she got home, tears were freely flowing down her face and she walked into her room, shut the door, and called up her hall advisor.

"Hello?" a bleary voice answered the phone.

"Hi is Rachael there?" Khanya asked softly, trying to once more control her emotions.

"This is her. Is that Khanya? What's wrong?" Rachael sounded more awake now.

"I need someone to fill in for me indefinitely. My boyfriend was in a car accident last night and is now in a coma, I am heading down to be with him and his family." Khanya couldn't stop the tears this time.

"Khanya, I'm so sorry. I will ask Jenna and Caitlin to fill in for you and your duties, I'm sure they won't mind. Thanks for calling me, and keep me updated ok?" Rachael asked. "You're one of my best friends, chicka, and I know how much Eric means to you."

"Thanks Rachael and I will keep you posted." Khanya hung up before she could break down. She quickly threw some clothes and other necessities into her small suitcase, then lay down on her bed and tried to get a few hours sleep.

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Khanya awoke the next morning to pounding on her door. "Go away!" she mumbled sleepily, hoping all of the previous night's events had been a dream.

"Khanya, you open this door up now! Aleesa is on the phone and wants to speak to you now!" Jessica yelled.

Khanya sat bolt upright in bed, saw her packed bags, and looked at her clock, 0730, "Crap!" She bolted out of her room and to the kitchen, "Aleesa?! Any news?"

"He's awake, and he wants to see you. The doctors don't think it looks too good for him." Aleesa said calmly, though the strain on her voice was evidence enough that she was trying to stay calm for Khanya's benefit.

Khanya dropped the phone, dashed to her rooms, grabbed her things and was out the door yelling to Jessica over her shoulder, "Tell Aleesa I'm on my way!" Throwing her things into her car, Khanya sped out of the parking lot and was soon on her way down south.

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About an hour later, Khanya pulled into a driveway and ran up to the door of the house, pounding furiously on it. "Aleesa?!"

Aleesa opened the door calmly and put on a jacket, "Calm down a little Khanya." She motioned for Khanya to drive, and they were soon on their way to the hospital, with Aleesa giving her directions.

When they arrived, they quickly made their way up to the ICU and to Eric's room. His mother was still there, talking quietly with him, his face a mask of pain, but when he saw Khanya, he quickly covered it up with a smile. "Hey there satellite."

His mother and Aleesa left them alone in the room, as Khanya pulled a chair up next to him. "Hey bud, how you doing?" she asked softly.

He grabbed her hand and squeezed, "I know they've already told you that. Don't play stupid, ok?" He tried to keep a strong face as he said that, but Khanya could see the pain, both physical and emotional, in his eyes. "Did they tell you the circumstances of the accident?" he asked softly.

"No, I assumed it was on your way home from hunting with John."

He tensed for a moment as a jolt of pain swept through his body, then relaxed as she gave his hand a slight squeeze of reassurance, "In a way it was. I had done some major thinking when I was up in the mountains, and had finally come to a decision. I told John I was leaving 'cause I had some unfinished business," at Khanya's confused expression, he explained. "I was coming up to see you."

Khanya was still confused, "Why? You were supposed to be spending time with your friends."

He motioned to the bag sitting on the counter, "Khanya, go get that for me?" she nodded and got up to get it, then handed it to him when she returned.

He opened the bag, and inside was a small black velvet box, but when Khanya saw it, she shook her head, tears in her eyes, "Eric, no…"

Despite her protest, he opened it, inside was a simple silver band with a small diamond set in it, "Khanya, I want you to marry me, but now that isn't possible."

"Eric…" she couldn't say anything, just started crying and laid her head down on his chest. He set the box down and stroked her back, trying to comfort her and himself at the same time; he didn't want her to see the tears forming in his own eyes. She slowly dried her eyes and then looked up to see a lone tear escaping his, and she wiped it away. "Eric, you know what my answer would have been, why did you wait so long?"

He looked at her, brushing a strand of hair out of her face, "I was unsure about myself I guess."

She smiled faintly, "Eric, you won," pausing she picked up the box and placed the ring on her finger. "No matter what happens." Her comment needed no explanation; they both understood the implications in it.

He grabbed her hand again and she laid her head down on his chest, in a sort of hug. He stroked her hair with his free hand and kissed the top of her head. She silently cried and was soon asleep, the frustrations of the last two days catching up with her. He smiled as he felt her rhythmic breathing and fell asleep as well.

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At around 2:45 pm, they were both woken up by Aleesa. "Hey you two," she said, gently shaking them both. They woke up and looked at her bleary eyed, Khanya's stomach growled quietly, and Aleesa laughed softly, "come on, Mom and I are going to get lunch downstairs, why don't you come with us?"

Khanya looked at Eric, and he nodded, "Go on, I will be fine." He smiled gently at her.

She kissed him on the cheek, "Don't run away on me now." She smiled back at him, and kissed him on the forehead.

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When they got to the cafeteria, Eric's mom, Leanne, had already found a table for the three of them. Khanya smiled at her, "Hey Leanne, how are you doing?"

Leanne smiled, "I'm doing as well as can be expected, and how are you Khanya?"

Khanya smiled softly but had a sad expression on her face all the same, "I'm not sure."

Aleesa grinned conspiratorially at her mother, and then glanced towards Khanya's left hand, clearly wanting her mother to look at it. "She's got a few things on her mind now, mother."

Leanne saw the ring and smiled, "So he finally got around to it, did he?" She looked at Khanya and saw the painful expression on her face. "Are you okay dear?"

Khanya visibly paled, "No…Eric…he's…gone…" tears started to fall down her face.

Aleesa looked at Khanya in shock, "How do you know this?"

Khanya shook her head, stood up, and before she dashed to Eric's room, looked at Leanne and Aleesa and said, "I'm not sure…I felt his pain in my mind, then it stopped."

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Khanya nearly bowled over the doctor as she rushed off the elevator to Eric's room. "Miss Cartell!" he called after her, but he was too late, a cry of anguish ripped through the ICU and the doctor knew that she had found Eric covered in a white sheet.

Leanne and Aleesa hurried off the elevator as Khanya's cry died out. They saw the doctor and he nodded in affirmation of their fears. "Mrs. Sparks, your son passed away just a few moments ago, I was coming down to get you. I am sorry."

Aleesa and Leanne walked down the hall and stood in the doorway of Eric's room as they watched his fiancé mourn over him. Strangely enough, she was making no sound, and only a single tear had escaped her eyes. She just sat there staring at his body, not moving at all. Aleesa walked into the room and put an arm around Khanya's shoulders, "Come on chicka, let's give mom a few moments then head home, ok?" She said as gently as she could.

Khanya stood up slowly then walked purposefully out of the room, not waiting for Aleesa, "Please just leave me alone right now."

Aleesa looked less then pleased, but her mother just patted her on the shoulder, "Leave her be, hun, she needs some time to herself, ok?" Aleesa nodded and sat down in a chair by he door as her mother sat down near the bed and mourned silently to herself, head in her hands.

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Khanya drove around aimlessly for a while, and soon found herself high up in the mountains. Parking, she got out of the car, and started to hike the mountain trail she found herself at. Within two hours, she found a flat rock, and decided to sit down and think. It was getting late, and the sun was setting, but all Khanya could do was cry, and she ended up crying herself to sleep.

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Something woke Khanya up out of her restless sleep. Looking at her watch quickly, she found that it was after midnight already, and she sat up carefully, listening to try and hear what had woken her up. Suddenly a coyote call rang out across the night, followed by another. Khanya's senses seemed to have sharpened sometime when she was sleeping, and she could tell that there were 5 coyotes and they had surrounded her as she was sleeping. Frightened, Khanya tried to look for something to use as a weapon, but couldn't find anything. _I'm gonna die here, killed by a pack of coyotes. What can I do?_ Something woke up in her mind and she could feel her bones shifting as her senses became even stronger. Collapsing to her knees she could suddenly see the coyotes, even though it hadn't gotten any lighter. _What the hell is happening to me?!_ She opened her mouth and yelled at the coyotes, but a human yell is not what came out, instead she heard a large feline growling. _What the-?_ She finally felt her bones stop shifting, and her thought patterns became more predatory. She realized finally that she had somehow changed into a large feline, but she couldn't explain it, but it did not matter as she had more important things on her mind. The coyotes sprung at her and she swiped a large black paw, claws extended, at the lead coyote, and hissed at them. She let the big cat's instincts take over, and she felt herself leaping after the coyotes, going on the offensive, and growling loudly at the coyotes, which finally turned tail and ran away.

_I need to become human again before I go home or someone finds me. _As she thought this, she felt her bones shifting, and she could feel the difference in her body now. When she knew she was done morphing back to her human form, Khanya was surprised that her senses had not dulled one bit, she still kept her feline senses in her human form now. _This is really freaking me out; I thought they said that mutations always manifested themselves at puberty?_ Khanya shrugged, and then realized that she had morphed back into a spandex type of suit, not her normal clothes. _Thank you for small blessings! _She ran back towards her car, and threw some clothes on over her new spandex outfit. Then got into her car and drove back towards Leanne's home. Khanya pulled into the driveway, turned her car off, and slept in her car, not yet ready to face Leanne and Aleesa.

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**AN:** Well, She is just starting to discover her powers, whaddya think??? There will be some introductions of some of the X-men in the next chapter…my roomie thinks this story is evil, cause all my original characters are based on people I know, and I killed off my boyfriend in this story….lol…but there is a specific reason I killed him off, and it will affect Khanya later in the story. I have an idea of who I wanna have her hook up with later in the story, but I am not entirely sure yet….if ya wanna take a guess, go on ahead! ;) anyway, until the next time that I have a few extra minutes and can type up the next chapter, later!


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